ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Iran executed two more in relation with the nationwide January protests over the country’s battered economy, the judiciary said Wednesday, accusing them of involvement in killing four security personnel in the northeastern Mashhad city.

The judiciary’s Mizan Online News Agency accused Ali Himati and Majid Nikandish of being “leaders of the unrest in Tabarsi, Mashhad,” where rioters allegedly carried weapons and incendiaries causing damage to public property.

“In the course of their extremely violent actions, they martyred four security forces,” the judiciary said.

Iran was engulfed in nationwide protests starting late last year, as business owners and shopkeepers at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar went on strike and staged demonstrations over the falling value of the Iranian rial against the US dollar. The unrest later spread to other provinces, with chants increasingly targeting the state.

The protests led to a violent crackdown from Iranian authorities during which tens of thousands of people were killed, injured, or arrested. Dozens have been executed for their alleged involvement in the unrest since.

“We saw that some people had beaten two Basij forces. Majid and I went there and stabbed one of the Basij forces twice in the side with the knife I had with me. Majid took the knife from me and stabbed the other Basij force twice in the side,” the judiciary cited Himati as allegedly confessing.

Nikandish allegedly said: “I was carrying a knife with me. We attacked a store. I filmed the riots and sent them to a number outside the country.”

Iran has a long history of broadcasting alleged confessions from detainees that are widely believed to have been obtained through threats, psychological pressure, and, in some cases, physical torture.

In a report in late July, the United Nations censured Iran for issuing death sentences without fair trials and said that at least 24 people have been executed by the Islamic republic in 2026 in connection with the January protests, urging Iran to halt the hangings.

Iran has ramped up executions since its war with the US and Israel and the nationwide protests.

According to Amnesty International’s 2025 annual report on the use of the death penalty worldwide, global executions have surged to their highest level in over four decades, driven largely by Iran.

The report said Iranian authorities carried out at least 2,159 executions, more than double the previous year and the highest figure recorded in the country in decades. Iran alone accounted for around 80 percent of all recorded executions worldwide.

The US-based Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRANA) reported that it had confirmed the deaths of 6,388 protesters, as well as 236 children, during the period between December 2025 and February 2026.